Krystal Ramseur is the Chief Operating Officer of The National Council of Negro Women, a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 that aims to empower Black women and families, especially in the areas of health, education, social justice, and economic development.
This role is a dream job for Krystal, who has always valued community-building.
“My dad was in the Air Force, so we moved around a lot,” she shares. “I always was someone who, when I went to a new space, was trying to create a community.”
In addition to community-building, Krystal believes in the power of education and mission-driven work. She knew from a young age that she wanted to prioritize these in her future career.
When Krystal was in high school, her dad retired from the Air Force and her family settled in North Carolina. Krystal started a new predominantly white high school and, despite having good grades, she was put in a remedial reading class.
“I went home to my mom and said, ‘I don’t understand why I’m in this class,’” she adds.
Krystal’s mom advocated for her and she was eventually able to get into the right class, but this experience stuck with her.
After college, she took a job with the adult public charter school Academy of Hope and stayed for almost a decade because she really believed in the organization.
“Academy of Hope’s mission is changing lives through education,” she says.
She connected with this mission on a personal level. Krystal knew that a lot of the people she worked with at the Academy of Hope didn’t have an advocate on their side like she had in her mom.
“I loved the ability to work with students,” she shares. “It wasn’t their fault that they didn’t get their high school credential,” she shares.
Trust Your Gut
Krystal loved her work with the Academy of Hope and decided to trust her gut and move forward on that career path. She started as a GED instructor at the Academy and eventually transitioned to a development role where she learned more about the nonprofit world before becoming director of finance and operations.
“I had such a diverse experience. I gained so much knowledge, worked with so many different types of people and was exposed to so many different projects. So when this opportunity for NCNW came up, I was completely ready,” she explains.
The COO role at The National Council of Negro Women allowed Krystal to blend her experience from the education non-profit space with her passion for empowering Black families.
“Being COO, you could have that job anywhere. For me, it was really important to have it at a place that shared my values,” she says.
Krystal knew staying at AoH for so long was the right thing for her and she wants other young leaders to also trust themselves.
“I don’t think I would have been able to get this job at this age had I not had all of the experience I’d had at Academy of Hope,” she adds.
Connect to Community
Krystal loves her work but she also knows the importance of having an outlet. A few years ago she found hers in improv comedy.
“Immediately I felt this freedom and liberation to have this creative outlet, to be silly, to have fun,” she says. “I was meeting a whole new different group of people in DC that I had never met before.”
Even though Krystal calls improv comedy her “second life,” this creative outlet blends seamlessly into her professional life as well. Whether it’s working to secure a CDC grant for a national health equity program or teaching improv classes to survivors of domestic violence, Krystal makes sure that everything she does is mission-driven and centered on community building.
“I enjoy the work that I do. I enjoy the community. I enjoy feeling connected with the service, with the mission, with the programs,” she shares.